There’s been a theme to Novak Djokovic’s clay-court season so far – every match he’s played has gone to three sets and has either ended 7-5 or 6-4 in the decider.
His second round with Nicolas Almagro in Madrid on Wednesday was no different. Djokovic hung on however, erasing a 0-3 deficit in the third set to beat the Spaniard 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in a two-hour 15-minute battle.
He lost four games in a row at the end of the second set and start of the third, but did not panic. His reward is a third round meeting with another Spaniard – Feliciano Lopez.
Djokovic, who is title-less since the opening week of the season when he won Doha, is proud of the way he fought, but admits he’s still not where he’d like to be form-wise.
“Look, you know, I’m still finding my way to that consistency level and quality of tennis that I’m looking for,” admitted Djokovic, who is the defending champion in Madrid.
“I’m aware that I’m not playing at my best, but I’m definitely believing in myself and the process. Eventually the game will come together.”
Djokovic split with his entire coaching staff prior to the start of the tournament and is in Madrid with his brother, Marko, and Spanish “guru” Pepe Imaz.
There have been rumours that he might hire Andre Agassi as his new coach but Djokovic would not confirm or deny such reports. He had said he is in no rush to make a decision regarding his next appointment but added on Wednesday that heading to the French Open – which is less than three weeks away – with a new coach in his corner is a possibility.
Djokovic had to work ➡️ Hard ➡️ But he begins the defence of his crown with a 7-5 win in the third. #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/LNP9GTy63s
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 10, 2017
“I understand that people are trying to speculate and trying to look into the possible coaches and create a list because I was saying I would like to have ideally someone who fits into the profile of a person that was kind of in my shoes before, that has been winning grand slams,” said Djokovic.
“There are not too many of those kind of champions in the history of the sport. I guess it’s normal that people start coming up with names. I can’t talk more than that. I’m going to think about who I want in my team. Right now I don’t have yet anyone. But I think by French Open or after French Open, I already going to have someone.”
Djokovic, who is now 15-4 in 2017, hopes his escape routine against Almagro can build up his confidence.
“Well, this was the fourth match on the clay court season for me this year, and all of them went 7-5 or 6-4 in the third set. Every match more or less that I’ve played was quite close, dramatic as well. I guess I’m supposed to be tested in every match on clay,” he explained.
“From positive side, from that perspective, is good for psychological aspects and mental strength and getting confidence back. Obviously when you’re not winning too many matches, you have to build the confidence level. So to win the matches like this definitely helps confidence.”
Team Djokovic: Marko Djokovic, Pepe Imaz and Elena Cappellaro.
Djokovic is 8-1 head-to-head against Lopez, whose only victory over the Serb came via retirement in Dubai last year when Djokovic pulled out with an eye infection.
Lopez made it to the third round with a hard-earned 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3) win over Frenchman Gilles Simon.
The 35-year-old from Toledo fired 14 aces against Simon, saved 9/12 break points and won 76 per cent of the points on his first serve.
Lopez is aware Djokovic may not be at his peak level but is under no illusion that he will have an easy task on Thursday.
“It’s obvious tomorrow I’m going to play one of the best players in history. It’s obvious that he’s not in the best moment of his career. We can see that by his results. But I think that it’s normal that any player has ups and downs,” said Lopez.
“I think that players like Novak, during three or four years, he made us think he was not human, that he was unbeatable, that he could win every single match he played.
“We have come to a moment now, as any other player, he has ups and downs, that he doesn’t win everything. Now we start talking about things which I think are nonsense.
“At the end of the day it’s very difficult to be up there all the time, winning every single match. The pressure of having to win every single match, it’s not easy.
“Maybe he needs a little bit more confidence. Like me. We all need confidence. But tomorrow’s match against Novak I think is going to be tough. I think the fact that he hasn’t won so many matches this year is not going to affect tomorrow’s match. I think he’s still playing at a very high level and he’s going to be very competitive during the next weeks.”
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